was a Japanese

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and former member of Japan's

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

Career

Born in

Hyūga, Miyazaki is a port city in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on April 1, 1951, with the joint merger of Tomishima Town and Iwawaki Village. , the city has an estimated population of 60,037 making it the 4th largest city in Miyazaki Prefectur ...

, Takami Eto studied at the Tomitaka business school (now Kadokawa High School), and graduated the Miyazaki Agriculture and Forestry College (now

University of Miyazaki is a national university primarily in the Kibana neighborhood of southern Miyazaki city, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. The name is sometimes shortened to the abbreviation "UoM" or the portmanteau "Miyadai." The predecessor of the school was foun ...

). After graduation, he ran for the Miyazaki prefecture assembly, and was elected three terms. A conservative politician, Takami Etō joined in 1973 the political club Seirankai (青嵐会 - 'Mountain wind') founded by

Shintaro Ishihara was a Japanese politician and writer who was Governor of Tokyo from 1999 to 2012. Being the former leader of the radical right Japan Restoration Party, he was one of the most prominent ultranationalists in modern Japanese politics. An ultranat ...

, one of Japan's most prominent "

far right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

" politicians. He was called "Japan's Le Pen" on a program broadcast on Australia's

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. Eto was once considered a major

power broker In political science, a power broker is a person who influences people to vote towards a particular client (i.e. elected official or referendum) in exchange for political and financial benefits. Power brokers can also negotiate deals with other p ...

in Japan's Liberal Democratic Party.Japanese ex-minister found dead in Vietnam hotel room
- AFP - Nov 22, 2007 - Accessed Dec 1, 2014 Eto served as the Japanese

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

minister during the early 1990s, but resigned from the Management and Coordination Agency in 1995 following controversial comments regarding Japan's treatment of occupied countries during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Etō retired from

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

in 2003. Takami Etō was found dead in his hotel in

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, on November 22, 2007. He was 82 years old when he died and had been in

on a private agriculturally related visit. Japan's

Kyodo News is a nonprofit cooperative news agency based in Minato, Tokyo. It was established in November 1945 and it distributes news to almost all newspapers, and radio and television networks in Japan. The newspapers using its news have about 50 millio ...

reported that Etō had died of an apparent

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

Historical revisionism, negationism

Etō was known for his revisionist views, and his negation of the existence of

Japanese war crimes The Empire of Japan committed war crimes in many Asian-Pacific countries during the period of Japanese militarism, Japanese imperialism, primarily during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Second Sino-Japanese and Pacific Wars. These incidents have b ...

. He resigned from his post as minister in 1995 following comments in which he stated that Japan "did some good things" when it governed

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, including building

railroads Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

roads A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

and

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

. Etō's comments threatened to cancel an important

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

between

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

's then

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Kim Young-sam Kim Young-sam (; or ; 20 December 1927 – 22 November 2015) was a Demographics of South Korea, South Korean politician and activist who served as the seventh president of South Korea from 1993 to 1998. From 1961, he spent almost 30 year ...

, whose government objected to Etō's comments, and then

Japanese Prime Minister The prime minister of Japan (Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of State ...

Tomiichi Murayama is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1994 to 1996. He led the Japanese Socialist Party, and was responsible for changing its name to the Social Democratic Party (Japan), Social Democratic Party of Japan in 1996. Up ...

, a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

who led Japan's

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

, before Etō's resignation. Additionally, Etō defended the 1910 Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty which gave Japan control over Korea. He stated in a speech, "''Why was the country-to-country treaty called an invasion?...What's the difference between that and a merger of a town and a village?''" Etō also actively lobbied against school

textbooks A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textbook ...

which mentioned so-called "

comfort women Comfort women or comfort girls were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The term "comfort women" is a translation of the Japanese '' ia ...

" Comfort women were women from across

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, including Koreans, whom Japanese troops forced into sexual slavery during

. Etō also

denied Denial, in ordinary English usage, has at least three meanings: asserting that any particular statement or allegation is not true (which might be accurate or inaccurate); the refusal of a request; and asserting that a true statement is not true. ...

the existence of the

Nanking massacre The Nanjing Massacre (, ja, 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu) or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the Ba ...

, which he considered as a hoax.

Transmission of power and views to his son

Takami Etō's son, Taku Etō, took his father's seat in the

House of Representatives of Japan The is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors (Japan), House of Councillors is the upper house. The composition of the House is established by and of the Constitution of Japan. The House of Representatives ha ...

. Taku Eto is affiliated to the openly revisionist lobby

Nippon Kaigi The Right side up ...

, which advocates a restoration of

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

in the archipelago and negates the existence of

. He was among the 86 MPs invited to the meeting for the 'one million people rally to protect the Imperial tradition' in March 2006, and among the people who signed 'THE FACTS', an ad published in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' on June 14, 2007, in order to protest against

United States House of Representatives House Resolution 121 United States House of Representatives House Resolution 121 () is a Resolution (law), resolution about comfort women which Japanese-American Congressman Mike Honda of California's 15th congressional district introduced to the American House of R ...

, and to deny the existence of

sexual slavery Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership rights, right over one or more people with the intent of Coercion, coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activities. This include ...

for the Imperial military ('

Comfort women Comfort women or comfort girls were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The term "comfort women" is a translation of the Japanese '' ia ...

'). ile:The_Facts_about_the_Comfort_Women.jpg/ref>

References

External links

Takami Etō obituary
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Eto, Takami Government ministers of Japan Anti-Korean sentiment in Japan Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 1925 births 2007 deaths University of Miyazaki alumni Place of birth missing category:nanking Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians